Senate Democrats Again Pull Subpoena Vote in Supreme Court Probe

The Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee canceled for the third time a scheduled vote on issuing subpoenas against two private citizens connected to conservative Supreme Court justices. The scuttling of the committee’s business meeting on Nov. 16 came after the Supreme Court unexpectedly unveiled a code of conduct (pdf) for the nine justices on Nov. 13. Several justices had publicly expressed support for the idea. Democrats, who accuse the court of being overly sympathetic to business interests and conservative causes, had been pressing for such a code for some time. Committee Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who has been sharply critical of the court, and particularly of Justice Clarence Thomas’s relationship with affluent Republicans, welcomed the code:...